


Even a stray deserves a second chance

by The_green_eyed_fictionista



Series: Catboys [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Best Friends, Catboys & Catgirls, Fluff, Kid!Cas, M/M, No Romance, catboy!dean, dean is a stray cat, protective!Dean, with just a tinge of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-28
Updated: 2013-12-28
Packaged: 2018-01-06 12:45:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1106979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_green_eyed_fictionista/pseuds/The_green_eyed_fictionista
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The ginger striped catboy knew he was beyond lucky to have a friend like Cas, most cats like him never got the chance to have someone care for them, most never even knew their families, and it was a hard life to live on the streets, to jump from yard to yard, to search for rotten food in dumpsters and in back alleys, to get spooked when faced with a stranger.</p>
<p>But then one day he met Castiel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Even a stray deserves a second chance

Dean put his little paws on the fence, pushed with his hind ones into the wood and jumped on top of it, struggling for a couple of seconds to regain his balance. He was a catboy, a graceful one at that, but even so, he occasionally had his bad days. He stood perched up high on the fence swishing his calico tail impatiently. From this vantage point and avoiding the old unkempt tree, he had a perfect view of the Novak’s yard, more precisely of their driveway.

In was almost noon, and he knew that around this time, Castiel was supposed to come home from school, driven by one of his parents. Dean knew this because this was his daily routine. The stray cat minded his own business, stole some food, got into some catfights, mrowwed at annoying people, you know, the regular business. That was until noon, when he would wrap up whatever he might have been doing, and strolled towards the Novak estate, where he would jump on the fence, and wait there until his best friend (who was he kidding, his _only_ friend) would return home, so they could play together.

The ginger striped catboy knew he was beyond lucky to have a friend like Cas, most cats like him never got the chance to have someone care for them, most never even knew their families, and it was a hard life to live on the streets, to jump from yard to yard, to search for rotten food in dumpsters and in back alleys, to get spooked when faced with a stranger.

But then one day he met Castiel. He found him in an alley being picked at and pushed over by another much larger human boy. The smaller kid just look so terrified, that Dean just had to leave behind the half eaten can of food that he found in a bin and jump in front of the boy, tail puffed out, ears pulled back as he mrowed low and deep in warning towards the bully. The orange catboy was quite big for his age, almost four feet high, and could look quite threatening when he wanted to, and as his tail stood still like a spring waiting to be let loose behind him, the bully knew not to mess with him, turned on his heels and took flight

Dean turned towards the boy that was left behind, he just looked so small and helpless and was trembling a little too much for Dean’s comfort, so the catboy hugged him into his arms lightly, his tail patting the boy’s back until the shivering stopped. Dean was surprised with himself, he never got close to people, he never even got close to his own kind. But this little boy just looked like he really needed to be protected and cared for. Which Dean did, every day for the last four months.

But it was a give and take friendship, Castiel fed him every day that Dean came by (which was a feat in itself since Dean never in his life had a steady source of meals), and the ginger tabby just knew that Cas must have been stealing food from his household to bring to him, though Dean never asked for anything for himself.

Castiel also tended to his wounds when he got into fights with other cats or even the occasional dog (because Dean just never backed out when faced with a challenge), and the twelve year old could definitely become a great doctor or nurse one day, the boy’s concentration whenever he cleaned and patched a scratch or a cut always made Dean smile.

But most of all, he cared for Dean, and for that he would be eternally grateful. The catboy loved crawling and curling around the boy’s legs while he read, and let himself be petted, let his fur be smoothed by those little hands, let his pointy ears be tugged at. It never ceased to make him purr like a motor boat, and then the boy would giggle and laugh at the sound, and Dean would purr even more, pleased that he made Cas smile.

But lately something was bothering his best friend, Dean just knew it even if Cas didn’t say anything about it, or when Dean would ask, Cas would reply that everything was fine. But Dean knew, he just knew that there was something wrong, maybe Castiel’s parents found out that their son was friends with a stray catboy and told him to stop spending time with the cat. So Dean crouched, up on the narrow edge of the fence, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The thing was that, before he met his friend, he was an independent stray, he didn’t want, no, he didn’t _need_ anybody else, but now, after these months, everything felt different, he _needed_ Castiel, needed someone to come back to, even if only for a couple of hours before going back on the street, he needed a fixed point in his life, someone to care for and take care of. He knew that if he couldn’t see the human boy at all, he would witherand die, but it’s not like cats like him deserved better, right? If they did, then they would have been born into pedigree, into families that wanted them. Like that catgirl Bella from across Cas’s street, all smooth and healthy fur, straight spine, elegant walk, and fake to the core.

Dean could hear the car’s engine from a mile away. His tail made a sinuous move and Dean slapped it with a paw - _stop that_ – the wiry and puffy appendage having a mind of its own. When the vehicle pulled into the driveway, Castiel bounced from the back seat without even closing the door and sprinted in Dean’s direction. The catboy jumped gracefully from his warm place on the fence.... and landed in the bush bellow him in a tangle of limbs and tail. Castiel screeched with panic but Dean was back on two feet in no time, a lot more rumpled and humiliated but in one piece - for crying out loud, cats fell from trees all the time and landed on their feet, but then again... he wasn’t having one of his best days, bad balance and motor skills and all...

After he pulled on all the catboy’s limbs and even tugged on his tail and was convinced that Dean was okay, Castiel became all of a sudden the example image for bashfulness, the boy just wouldn’t catch Dean’s eyes and kept trying to say something but his mouth fell open and close without any words actually coming out. Then Cas took a deep breath and ran inside the house.

Dean let himself slide down the lawn and pull his legs to his chest. _Here it comes_...

Moments later Castiel sprinted out of the house, holding something hidden behind his back. And started talking so fast, without taking any breaths, that Dean didn’t understand a word the boy was saying, so Cas braced himself and started again, shortening his speech

”Dean, I think you are the coolest person I’ve ever met, human or not, you have the kindest soul, you would sacrifice yourself for the stupidest things in the blink of an eye, you never ask anything for yourself and if you even had a slice of bread to last your for days, you would give it to someone who you’d think might need it more. You are my best friend, and I _need_ to know you safe and cared for. I talked to my parents, and we all want to adopt you. I know you are a free spirit and that you never knew captivity or ownership and that you need your independence, and I promise that neither me or my parents will never... what you called it?... ah yes... never crowd your style”

Dean’s eyes were filled with tears. He never shed a tear in his life and somehow now... Was Castiel saying what he thought he was saying?

”So ummm, I guess... what I’m saying is... would you like to join our small family, call us yours, and so we could call you ours?” Castiel voice was trembling, so obviously afraid of rejection that it made Dean whine low in his throat.

”Yes Cas, yes, a thousand times yes, I would love to call you my family” Dean jumped into Cas’s arms as they both fell on the lawn, one curled into the other in an embrace. Than Cas, laughing like he was being tickled, thrust in front of Dean’s eyes what he kept hidden behind his back – a soft leather collar, the same shade of green like Dean’s eyes, a black inscription on it with the words ” _Dean Novak_ ”

Dean took the offered collar in his hands and stared at it with awe. His first thought was that a couple of hours ago he thought he would die if the boy in front of him left his life, and now fortunately he’ll _never_ have to find out for sure. His second thought was ”Ha! Suck on that Bella!”


End file.
